System of treating fruit.



, RG. GINAGA. SYSTEM or @Rume FRUIT; 'APPLIGA'HOH Hmm JUNE e., 1,912. l Y

Patented pr. 29,391.3.

2 {SHEETS-SHEET 2.

siding at Honolulu, count e UNITED 'STATES PATENT. caricia.

HENRY GABRIEL GINACA, F HONOLULU, TERRITORY OF HAWAII, ASSIGNOR T0 HAWAIIAN PINEAPPLE COMPANY, LTD., OF HONOIULU, TERRITORY 0F .HAWAII, A; CORPORATION OF THE TERRITORY 0F HAWAII. i I

SYSTEM OF TREATING' FRUIT.

Specieaton of Letters Patent. Y

Patented Apr. 29, 1913.

Application filed J une 6, 1912. Serial No. 702,057.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY GABRIEL GINACA, a citizen of the United States, re-

of Honolulu, Territory cf Hawaii, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Systems with one another.

of'Treating Fruit; and I d o hereby declare the followingT to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains-to make and use the same.

Thisinvention relates toa system of treating fruit, particularly pineapples, whereby the fruit may besized, its ends trimmed o and cored, and the good portion .of fruit trimmed from 'the rind, all of these operations being accomplishedin a rapid, automatic, continuousv and efficient manner.

Heretofore these various operations have been performed by separate machines, which are more or less automatic in their dling ofthe fruit.

The 4object of the present invention, how.-

ever, is to produce `a system whereby all handling of the fruit is eliminated, the fruit being treated in an automatic manner throughout, and at the same time more rapidly and efliciently' than has ever-before been done. Y

The invention contemplates the employnient ofal seriesof three machines each having separate functions as hereinafter stated, and'A means for connecting these ma'- chines so that they may work in conjunction The rst of these machines feeds the fruit and pushes through a sizing knife, whereby the fruit is sized and the barrel shaped shell or outer portion of the fruit with rind is removed Ain one piece, this machine being described in my application for patent entitled Machine for treating fruit, filed April 30th 1912, Serial The function of the second machine in the series, which receives the sized fruit discharged from the first inachine, is to cut off and remove the .ends of the fruit and also to core the fruit; such a machine is described in my application for patent filed Way 15, 1912, machine for 'treating fruit, Serial No. 697,385. The third machine of the series, which trims the good portion of the fruit from the rind of the barrel y shaped shells discharged from the rstmachine, isl described in my application for patent, machine for trimming fruit, l

led May 22, 1912, Serial No. 698, 995.

v As the machines are each fully described in the above mentioned applications, a vdetailed description of the three machines is hereinafter omitted.-

The invention'consists in the novel combiaffjff nation, arrangement and coupling of t-hg machines and apparatus, as. hereinafter fully described andclaimed, reference being had to the accompanying. drawings, forming a part af this specification, inwhich; V

Figure 1 is a plan view showing the'relation ofthe three machines and the connect,I

ing apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the saine. Reference numerals from 71 upward refer to the parts which are-added in order that v the three machines may work in conjunction with one another, the other reference chai'- acters being the same as used inthe three Y applications abovestated.` V Referring tojthe drawings, A represents the rst machineof the'series, which sizes the fruit. Y

'B represents the second machine which trims off the ends :and also cores the fruit.

@represents the .third and last machine' of the series, whose function is to trim oi and separate the good portion fromI the rind ofthe barrel sliaped's'hells discharged from machine A. l e Y The rear end of the machine A is placed on the right hand` side of machine B, so that the lower Iend of the T shaped cast-ing 26 of machine A is directly over one of the tubes 10 and in the opening or notch 1 of the plate l of machine B." rl`he front end of machine C is'placed on the, left hand of machine B. The rear end of the casting 2G of machine A is extended over the top of machine B and is either connected to or made a part of the horn 8a of the feed plate S of machine C, as shown. The shaft 9 of machine A is revolved by means of a belt 100 or chain from any suitable source of power .applied t.) the pulley or sprocket 1Q. The

machine B is driven by the machine A such that each step b v step movement of the tubes of machine B will correspond with the dlscharge of a sized fruit from maclnne A.

' The shaft 71 is provided, journaled in the bracket bearings T2 fastened. yto two of the legs of machine B. A miter gear 73 1s secured to the shaft' 7'1 to mesh with the miter gear 74 fastened to the end of the shaft 19 of machine B,` so that'v the shafts 71 and 19 will revolve at the same speed. A sprocket chine B, lwill make onel revolution for each fruitforced through the sizing knife I25 of machine A, in order that a tube 10 of ma.

chine B may be in position, under the lower end of the T shaped casting 26 of machine A, receive a sized fruit when discharged through said casting.

- Means are provided for dragging the shells or outer portion of the fruit rearward onthe castin 26 of machine A and onto the horn 8*l and eed plate 8 of machine C. The vertical posts 79 and 80 are secured upon the rear end of the table 3 en opposite sides of the casting 26 of machine A. The

. bar 81 is adapted to turn in holes through the upper ends of the posts 79 80. Two arms 82 83 are fastened to the bar 81 between the posts 7980, and each is provided with a slot 82a 83, and with an adjusting screw 84. A pulley or drum 85 is adapted to turn between the arms 82 and 83 on the bar 86 supported in the slots 82a 83a. An endless belt 87 is stretched over the pulley or drum 85 and the drum 40 and between the belt:- 41 42 of machine C. The post 79 is provided with a projecting arm 88 to form a stop to engage the arm 82 and thereby limit the downward movement of said arm due to the Weight of the pulley or drum 85, in which position the belt 87 clears the top of the casting :26- of machine A. rlhe speed of the l belt 87 is preferably slightly' faster than that 'of the chain 16 with propelling attachments 19 of machine A, in order that each of the shells' may be dragged rearward and not interfere with the shell of the succeeding fruit.

, The belt 87 may be provided with projections 89 to engage the rind.

In operation, the fruit fed to machine A is pushed rearward and through the sizing knife Q5, each fruit sized thereby being dis'- charged through the casting 26 into a tube 10 of machine B, theshells being ldragged rearward upon the casting Q6 by the belt 87 65 are fed to machine C whereby the good portion of fruit 1s tru imed from the rind. rI`he sized fruit thus fed to machine B has its ends trimmed ofi', is cored, and is then discharged through the chute 64 of said machine. It will now be noted that the fruit is sized,l its ends are trimmed o, and it is cored, that the. good portion of fruit is trimmed from the rind, that these operations are performed automatically in a rapid, continuous and efficient manner, and that handling ofthe fruit has thus been eliminated.

. vI claim:

1. A system of treating fruit comprising, a machine for sizing, a machine for trimming olf the ends and for coring, a machine for trimming the good fruit from the rind ofthe shells, and means connecting said machines so that fruit may be treated thereby in an automatic manner.

2. In a system of treating fruit, means for lsizing the fruit, means for .trimming both ends of the 'sized fruit irrespective of its length and means for guiding the sized fruit and feeding the same into the means for trimming the ends. v

v3. In a system of treating fruit, a machine for sizing the fruit. a machine for trimming both ends of the sized fruitirrespective of its length and means connecting said machines so that they will work in unison.

4. In a system of treating fruit, a machine for'sizing the fruit, a machine Vfor trimming both ends of the sized fruit. irrespective of its length. means for guiding the sized fruit and feeding the same into the machine for trimming the ends,.and means connecting said machines so that they work in unison.

5. In a system of treatin fruit, means for sizing the fruit, means or removing a good portion of the fruit from the rind of .the shells resulting from the sizing, and

means. for moving said vshells of the fruit from the first-named means to the secondnamed means.

6. In a system vof treating fruit, means `for sizing. a guide for the shells, means for removing the good portion of the fruit from the rind of said shells, and a belt for moving the shells on said guide from the firstnamed means to the second-named means.

7. In a system of treatin fruit, means for sizing the fruit, means or guiding the sized fruit, a guide Afor the shells, means for trimming the good portion of the fruit from the rind of said shells, and means for moving the shells upon said guide to feed them to said trimming means. c:

8. In a system for treating fruit, means for sizing, means for trimming -the vgood 49. In a system of treating fruit, means for sizing, means for trimming the good Jfor movingthe shells from the sizing'to the ruitjfrom the rind of the shells, a guide for trimming means. v the 'shells connectin said means, and a belt In testimony vyhereol`I 'ax my signa. or the like or moving the shellsl upon said ture, in presence of two Witnesses.

5 guide. y A HENRY GABRIEL GINACA. v l 10. In a system of treating fruit, means \Vitnes'ses: v

for Sizing, means for trimming the good Ror. J. Ilm'fnr, fruit from the rind of the shells, and means ARTHUR F. 'EWARTJ 

